CH ss - 4

Posted on April 7, 2022by Soafp

Translator: Soafp

As a high school student, I entered Tenkain Academy.

I was surprised at myself, and my teachers and parents were also surprised. I never dreamed that I, who was known for being an idiot, would be able to enter a school of higher education.

I had already recovered from my injury, but I had no intention of returning to athletics.

There was no reply from Shota on the Discordo.

There was no login to GPEX either.

I went to Shota’s house again to get his contact information, but he had moved out. I was completely out of ideas.

I started playing GPEX again, but now I realize that those days when I was playing while talking nonsense with Shota were the most fun.

During those agonizing days, I became a streamer.

I had always been interested in it, and since I started playing GPEX again, I watched videos and live broadcasts on a daily basis. I had started to think that I wanted to be a professional gamer or a streamer in the future. Besides, if I became a popular streamer, Shota might watch me. So I didn’t change my account.

I started my activities.

At first, I wasn’t popular at all, but as I continued, the number of subscribers gradually increased.

I also played with my classmates a few times, which led to them knowing that the streamer [Aomi] was me. The number of contacts and subscribers increased, thanks in part to the active spread of the game by enthusiastic fans.

However, I didn’t feel comfortable playing with anyone.

While focusing on streaming, I was also helping out with club activities at the school.

I was good at sports and liked to be physically active. I showed up at various club activities when asked to do so.

I kept myself busy like that, and before I knew it, I was chosen as a goddess.

The reason I was chosen was as a result of helping out in club activities and communicating with many people by playing games.

I was not interested in goddesses, but I was interested in other people who were chosen as goddesses.

Yuuhi Akazawa had always been an idol and was as popular in high school as ever. The reason for Shota’s isolation in junior high school was the rumor about this girl. When the rumor first started, this girl admitted that Shota was her stalker. However, after Shota transferred to a new school, she denied the rumor herself. I wanted to ask her how it happened.

Tsukiyo Kuromine suddenly changed her look from the third year of junior high school. There were rumors that this girl had something to do with Shota, but I had already cut ties with Shota by the time the rumors started to circulate. So I was wondering if it was true or not.

As for Mayuki Shirase, I don’t know her at all. She looks childish. She’s cute, so I can see why she would be popular.

It was Inuyama who was elected as the male god.

And then I found out everything.

Inuyama was furious at the first meeting of the Gods. I still remember that face.

Yuuhi Akazawa is the worst. She told her childhood friend Shota that he was a stalker, and she hurt him over the years by saying all kinds of bad things to him to relieve her stress.

Tsukiyo Kuromine is also a scum. She turned Shota, who protected her, into a criminal, while she played the victim to gain sympathy from those around her.

Mayuki Shirase is irredeemable. She approached a broken-hearted Shota, became his lover, and in no time at all, broke his heart by dating another man.

All of the stories I was told were unbelievable and disgusting.

But–

“You said we were best friends, but you ignored Shota, talked bad about him, and hurt him. To top it off, you pushed him down the stairs and seriously injured him!”

I was also a big part of it.

It is true that I ignored Shota, and I also said bad things about him. The incident where he fell down the stairs could have been avoided if I was in good physical condition.

So I accepted it in silence.

The sight of Inuyama shaking with anger filled me with guilt. He had not betrayed him like I had, and he was a good friend that Shota had given up out of kindness.

I couldn’t say anything back to Inuyama when I thought of his feelings.

My head was all messed up when I found out everything.

What was certain was that I now had an “enemy.”

They didn’t argue with Inuyama when he was furious. In other words, everything was true. That’s disgusting. They are unforgivable.

I was a sophomore in high school.

My relationship with those demons was terrible. I was always fighting with them, but now that Inuyama had told them who I was, they didn’t have to hide their true colors anymore, and were always fighting with each other. Thanks to that, the meetings were always rough.

Then one day, a new student arrived.

According to what everyone around him said, he was a refreshingly good-looking guy.

I was not interested in him at all. So when we happened to pass each other in the hallway, I was extremely confused.

“…… Eh?”

The transfer student was Shota. A strange voice came out.

His appearance had changed and his last name was also different.

But there was no way I could have mistaken him for anyone else. He had short hair and no glasses, just like Shota when he was in elementary school. There was no way I could mistake him for the person I remembered most.

But I could not be sure.

There was a gap of two years and a period of half a year when he did not speak.

And if it was the real Shota, there were still doubts. The person next to him was Nazuka. I know Nazuka because I went to Tobu Junior High School. That’s why I feel uncomfortable.

Considering what was done to Shota in middle school, he would not want to be reminded of his middle school days. But why would he go out of his way to be friends with Nazuka?

I decided to wait and see what would happen, holding back my nostalgia for the reunion and my desire to apologize.

One day. He was talking about GPEX.

It was my chance.

I took a chance and talked to him.

“I believe you’re one of the transfer students …….”

“Nijitani.”

“Yes, yes. You must be Shota Nijitani. Nice to meet you.”

I have no acting ability, too much so. My voice was completely shaky.

The face I saw up close was Shota himself. He had a puzzled look on his face, but I still pushed through. We promised to play together.

That night.

As I was streaming as usual, something unusual happened. Suddenly, Shota’s account on GPEX went online.

[“Eh, are you kidding me?”]

I couldn’t help but speak out during the streaming.

Impatient, I hit invite repeatedly. I was so confused that I didn’t know what I was doing.

Shota did not respond to the invitation.

But then I was sure.

Right after I promised, there was a login. I’m not stupid enough to dismiss this as a coincidence. Shota Nijitani is Shota Mukawa.

I ended the stream for that day, and I put my head in the game.

The reason why his last name had changed was probably because his parents had remarried. I don’t know how he came back here, but from his personality and Inuyama’s story, I don’t think it was revenge or anything like that. I wonder if the reason he was befriending Nazuka might have been to gather information?

I checked out Shota at school to get more information.

The biggest point is Akazawa, who is in the same class. Shota and that girl were in the same class. The distance between them is just like classmates. I also heard from people around me that Shota seemed to have reconciled Akazawa and Hazuki Nekoda.

……Why?

In the first place, does Akazawa realize that Shota Nijitani is Shota Mukawa? It turns out that that girl doesn’t like Shota, even though they were childhood friends.

Maybe no one but me is aware that [Shota Mugawa = Shota Nijitani]?

Hypothesis.

Shota is trying to hide his identity.

I don’t know how he transferred to this school, but Shota does not have a good image of this place. So, he transferred to Tenkain by accident. Shota’s mother doesn’t know that I was admitted to Tenkain, and I am sure she doesn’t know where those demons who were involved with Shota went to school either.

Shota was in despair as soon as he transferred to Tenkain, but then he realized that his true identity had not been exposed. So he acted like a different person. The reason he made up with Akazawa and Nekoda was camouflage so that he would not be revealed as Shota Mukawa. If it was Shota Mugawa, he would not have done anything to help Akazawa.

It made sense.

My crazy guess is that he has amnesia and all that, but if that’s the case, it’s strange that he logged into GPEX on the day he promised me.

“……, That’s why you can’t tell me”

What Shota doesn’t want to be found out is probably the goddesses, including me. If I tell Shota that I am aware of him, he will be shocked and may change schools again.

It pains me to say this, but I think it’s what he wants. This time I won’t make a mistake. I’ll keep my mouth shut until he tells me himself someday.

A few days later, we played GPEX together. Shota had become a little less skillful, but his favorite weapons and fighting style had not changed.

Especially at the end. The part where he lunges and gets hit back is exactly the same as it used to be. He had not grown up at all, but it was so like him that it made me laugh.

After the game, I called out to him.

I probed him lightly. Maybe I had certain expectations. Maybe if I was alone with him, he might confide in me.

But he didn’t reveal himself to me.

“A-And our voice?”

He gave me an interesting reply.

Indeed, his voice was different from Shota’s back then. His voice was lower. But if he thought he could fool his best friend’s ears, he was mistaken. The way he talks hasn’t changed, and his style of play is the same. It would be crazy not to notice this. The fact that he thinks he can fake it is what really makes him Shota.

The voice is definitely different. He had a higher voice.

I made sure to match them up.

After I was convinced, Shota and I would play games together from time to time. It was fun as ever. He and I were on the same wavelength. And Nazuka is a nice guy, too, so it feels like old times again.

However, things took a turn for the worse.

Those demons started to move.

Suddenly, there was a rumor that he was dating Kuromine. Then Shirase brought Shota to the meeting saying they became friends.

Like Akazawa, they were probably not aware that [Shota Mukawa = Shota Nijitani]. Shota got involved by mere coincidence. Maybe they wanted to stick to their goddess status and wanted the transfer student’s vote.

Then it became a contest of tests.

I know that I don’t have the best of the best in the test game. Still, I studied harder than I had ever studied in my life. I didn’t care about the closing ceremony speech, but I was annoyed at losing to these girls.

The result was defeat.

I was shocked beyond belief.

Not because I lost the test.

It was because I saw Shota on the board. I looked at him and saw Inuyama’s name, who had won the top position in his grade. When Shota saw that name, he looked really happy.

I felt the difference between him and me, the traitor.

Later, before the closing ceremony, we played GPEX again as a trio. At that time, I heard that he and Akazawa went to karaoke at the launch party, which made me even more impatient.

I decided to participate in a GPEX event that I had been invited to for a while and invited Shota and Nazuka to it.

And so ended my first semester.

I jump out of bed.

I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

I don’t know what the demons are after. But if I leave it like this, it won’t end well. I’ll leave Black aside since she denied the dating rumors, but I have a feeling that the red and white are aggressively approaching Shota.

“Okay, I’ve made up my mind!”

I still want to be friends with Shota again, not just gaming buddies. If possible, I want to go back to the days when we could say anything to each other without hesitation.

Above all, I want to protect Shota from those demons.

There are a number of missions I have to do from now on. The first step is to make sure they don’t realize that [Shota Mukawa = Shota Nijitani]. I want to protect Shota from their evil hands and become friends with Shota again. Ideally, we should be best friends.

Difficult. It’s difficult, but I’ll do it.

……,But will it really work out that way?

As if to drown out the fears smoldering in my head, I put on my shoes and started to run at a faster pace than usual.